Community Forums

dp7 · 11-01-2016, 01:33 AM

Many of the motorhomes I have been looking at have black or very dark paint colors. I usually buy white or light color cars because the paint holds up much better. For those of you that went with black or dark colors, how has the clear coat held up after a few years of sun exposure?

triplewide · 11-01-2016, 03:03 AM

Based on posts I have read here, dark colors also make the coach harder to cool.

Dr4Film · 11-01-2016, 03:26 AM

My 2002 coach delivered in 2001 is now 15 years old and the CC started peeling on the light tan colors years ago. It is now peeling really bad on the top of the front cap. Since the coach spent a lot of time both in Florida and southern California with lots of sun I am not surprised. So it is not only the choice of paint colors but where you spend most of your time too.

However, for the life of me I have never understood why coach manufactures would choose all of those DARK colors for the outside of the coach and especially on the roof and then people buying them.

What were they thinking!

To each their own.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

mrfix · 11-01-2016, 03:28 AM

I have a 2 year old black holiday rambler so far the paint looks great and the air conditioners cool the coach in southern temps no problem.
Mrfix

smlranger · 11-01-2016, 04:36 AM

It is just a matter of personal preference. I would never want to own any coach with the darker primary colors. Just doesn't make sense to me. They are harder to cool and much harder to keep clean and looking nice. I had one black truck years ago.... never again.

However, it seems that many folks like the darker colors. Most of the new coaches I see from Newmar, Entegra, Tiffin and many Winnebago's have black or other dark colors on them.

Ludmilla · 11-01-2016, 06:48 AM

My coach had dark colors in places and that is where I had the worst trouble with the checking and then clear coat coming off. When I had it repainted, I used light colors. I also do not understand this obsession with dark colors. There is a large temperature difference between dark and light colors in the sun. The hotter temperatures will cause the paint to have issues more quickly. Also, it is harder to cool a coach that had dark paint.

I asked Newmar and they said people like the way the darker colors look. The manufacturers build what people buy but I would not buy one with dark colors again.

twojayhawks · 11-01-2016, 07:26 AM

IMO there is nothing more beautiful, when clean & waxed, than a black car, cycle, coach, etc. However the price you pay in the form of cooling and keeping nice looking would make choosing black/dark prohibitive for me. But that's what makes the world go around everyone can have what they choose!

YC1 · 11-01-2016, 07:30 AM

08 coach and I repainted my front top cap. I did the dark edges several years ago and the lighter color along the edge needs help now and my wife pointed out a small area along the rear where the dark color is. Guess I will address those this winter.

Fortunately those areas are not critical so an amatuer like me can do the job.

puttin · 11-01-2016, 07:37 AM

My '08 Sightseer still looks new to a lot of people.

530ktm · 11-01-2016, 08:44 AM

Mine has silver metallic, tan metallic and black. Never have had a problem keeping cool and always shines like new. No problems with paint or clear coat to this day. I personally like the lighter colors but this coach came along and we liked the looks of it. Last coach was white so we needed a change.

twogypsies · 11-01-2016, 11:02 AM

We had a combination of medium and light browns with a small amount of black. The main thing for us is that it did not show dirt. Black would be awful to keep looking clean.

Another thing...even in extreme heat...paint shouldn't chip if it's kept waxed often. Ours looked new after 8 years of use.

mhbell · 11-01-2016, 12:49 PM

Two years ago I bought our present coach. It was 8 years old and white except for the Black vinyl decals which at the time were peeling and cracked from the sun. The rest of the lighter colored decals were fine. I removed the black one. (took 3 days) Never replaced them, but if I did it would be painted ones in a lighter color. Two years later I noticed that the clear coat on the top of the rear and front caps is peeling. The unit is now 10 years old.
Mel

moechester · 11-01-2016, 01:07 PM

MIne is glossy black and matte black with a matte red stripe. At first I did not like due to the color being primarily black. My DW loves black and is a big help keeping the coach clean. The main reason I agreed to purchase was the roof was white. You cannot see the white roof until you get on a ladder and literally get eye level with the roof top. My paint and clear on the glossy black looks better than new since I just waxed the coach. I also store the coach in a climate controlled building when not used. The matte finish requires little to no maintenance. Every so often I take a mixture of half water and half rubbing alcohol and simply wipe it down. Removes water spots and requires no drying. I wished the entire coach was matte finish. A/C's keep up without issue even in the heat of the summer in Texas. I think due to the white roof?

slickest1 · 11-01-2016, 03:01 PM

Our coach has a darker blue for the primary color. It spent it's first five years in Florida and the hot sun caused it to check on the dark paint. The lighter color stripes are still like new.
I have noticed that it is harder to cool but when the weather gets that hot I head north.

If I were to get another coach I would prefer a lighter color for sure.